7 growth hacks to make social media work for your start-up

Tech in Asia brings you the thumb rules

If content is king, viral content is definitely the emperor. Everyone’s striving to crack the secret code, and despite some awkward winners, the jury agrees that it’s one of the most effective growth boosters available for start-ups, or entrepreneurs.

Christel and Raj Sunder, founder and CEO, video engagement company Wootag, have a few simple rules of thumb:

1) Opinions, not buzz

Social media is a big black hole of all kinds of noise. If your start-up is on various platforms, you’ll be trolled and see commentary in all forms. Christel says the trick is in focusing on opinion, not buzz. 

2) Find one message

When you distribute your videos or other content, write down the single objective you want to achieve, advises Raj. 

3) Don’t be silo-ed

“Data in silos never ever work,” says Christel. That means you cannot fruitfully use data if you are only looking at metrics in isolation, or even if you are only looking at your own Twitter or Facebook metrics. 

4) Don’t waste money

Expensive gadgets do not a viral video make. “Use your phone camera to make your first videos and distribute them,” Raj says. 

5) Behaviours last, campaigns don’t

Christel compares these two trends with sunshine and a lightning strike. The latter is more striking, but sunshine is more enduring. It’s the same way with flashy campaigns. 

6) Use tool-driven metrics with caution

Don’t obsess over sentiment, warns Christel. “Every single client that we have loves asking us about sentiment, but don’t worry too much about it,” she says. 

7) Not every negative mention is a crisis

“If someone speaks badly about your brand online, it doesn’t automatically mean your boss is going to fire you,” Christel says. 
This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here